"I think you give the Coalition too much credit. They may have managed to drive people out of Sol, but here they are little more than an annoyance. Hessians ... well, let's be serious for a minute shall we? They're Rhienlanders first and foremost. So they're a pain in Dresden. They're a threat in Omega 11, and a little bit in Omega 7. The rest of the civilized worlds couldn't care less what they do down in the rest of the Omegas - and neither do we."
His cavalier dismissal of the two groups in a simple paragraph upset Carlos.
"Are you a complete fool, DeVirgo? Don't you realize what that group of people, working together, could mean to you and your precious Core?"
Max looked back calmly. "So you're admitting that you're worried that your mighty Corsair 'nation' is actually weak? Because I've been present on our station here in Delta when combined Order and Corsair forces attacked it - and your boys couldn't take it out. Why would I be worried about them, when they're not as strong as you? Or perhaps you should actually admit to yourself that you are the one worried, and that YOU need US - not the other way around."
Carlos had to sit back for a moment. In two short sentences DeVirgo had both insulted him - and also opened his eyes to something that he hadn't realized about his own forces.
Before Carlos could say anything else, Max pointed his finger at a young woman on his side of the table, and she stood up. "Gentlemen, I'm Abigail Hearns, one of our ship commanders, and also fully trained as an intelligence analyst. We have some comfirmation of the information you have presented here. However, it is far from complete, and I already know that some of this completely false. Bad intel is worse than no intel."
She set a small screen on the table, and a holographic presentation of the border worlds came up. "You have concerns about the Coaltion here joining with the Hessians, who have bases in these systems here." The map showing the bases blinked as they lit up. "However, our intel also shows that the Coalition is also on friendly terms with groups that have bases here, here, and here as well. And of course, all of these groups, including the Hessians, have stated that they will cooperate against any enemy of Rhienland - and each other."
The map now showed something that Carlos didn't like. The Corsairs were surrounded.
DeVirgo spoke softly. "So, Carlos - you can continue to threaten us. Our main enemy is the Order, and the Nomads, and our allies are in all of the Houses of Sirius." With a flick of her finger, Abigail lit up all the rest of Sirius house space. "Your space is here - and from where I sit, you have very, very few allies that have space near you - and lots of people around you that have reason to not like you."
"Some of us don't need to posture around like banty roosters to show our strength. And all the courage and pride in the world won't help you when you're outnumbered and about to get run over. There's a joke going around based on that new holo-vid show that's popular on Houston right now."
Carlos looked confused now - DeVirgo was bringing up jokes?
"Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian sidekick Tonto are in a gully, surrounded by 30 Mescalero braves. Lone Ranger looks at Tonto, and says, 'Now what do we do, Tonto?'. Tonto replied, "We, white man?"
"We don't need this as much as you do, Carlos. Your call."
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
"The elimination of the BHG Core in the Omicrons has always been an Order objective, and the full force of the Corsair Empire has never been brought against the Guild Core before, with the focus of our efforts always being directed toward the Outcasts and Hessians."
Carlos was irritated at the arrogance and hubris of the Hunters. He was quickly starting to believe that it would be better to abandon these talks, let the empire continue as normal, and enjoy watching the Guild Core fall.
"You also imply that our situation is a new occurrence. The war with the Hessians began over 80 years ago, and we continue to prevail, while your forces have never been more than an irritation."
Though not helpful for establishing common ground, Carlos knew it was essential to put the hunters in their place.
"Rest assured, this new Hessian-Order alliance's first target will not be the Corsair Empire; despite our distaste for eachother, the Order does not consider the Empire it's enemy. Their first target is likely to be you. Sooner or later the Empire may be forced to step in and drive the Hessians back to the hellhole that they came from, but not before they've done a great deal of damage in Omicron-Delta."
These talks were becoming increasingly tiresome. It was typical of the Hunters to parade their warships around, and claim they were invincible.
"We can prevent any substantial Order assistance reaching the Hessians on the battlefields of Omega-space. We could just as easily prevent Hessian aid reaching the Order. The question that remains is; would doing so be in our best interests?
DeVirgo sat back in his chair, his right elbow propped upon the arm, and simply rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. For several minutes, he simply sat there, looking in the direction of the Corsairs, but really not looking at them.
Miller and the rest of his team recognized that look, and were pensive about what would come next.
Finally, Max sat forward.
"Carlos, mi amigo, I think what we have here ... is a failure to communicate. You have an agenda, we have an agenda. How about we simply quit all the assorted slinging of calf excrement around, especially before it hits the rotating cooling device, and simply lay it out."
Carlos nodded slowly, trying to follow while also trying to keep his temper in check.
"You've already had a disagreement with the Order, and you're not on best of terms with them right now. You're not shooting at them ... yet ... but they've pissed you off, and so you're not supporting them anymore in anything. So you came to us seeking a non-agression pact, since you're already not shooting at someone we have issues with, and are basically asking us to lay off of you, and in return, you'll ... do something you've already decided to do. Which to me, sounds like you actually want something for nothing, but that's beside the point, because amazingly enough, we'd like to not have to shoot at you, either."
The bluntness of it - as well as the summation surprised Carlos. The Guildmaster wasn't as stupid as he'd thought.
"That's all well and good, but then I had to go and muck things up by throwing in a lot more than what you were expecting, and then actually ASKING for something else over and above in return. Which then made you get all riled up, and then throw out this whole Order, Coalition, and Hessian stuff as an excuse."
"I do not consider this threat to my peoples to be any kind of excuse for anything!
"Didn't say it was. But here's the underlying thing - you've been fighting these boys now for 80 years. It's a truism that all wars are brought about due to population pressure, as well. Carlos, you're running out of room and ways to feed your people, after those 80 long years of war. I know it, you know it, and all the posturing in the galaxy isn't going to make the fact that studies have shown your people will have to resort back to something you swore to do away with centuries ago within the next 5 years if nothing changes."
All of the Corsairs looked stunned at this revelation. They had been hiding that knowledge, they thought, from the rest of galaxy - including their own people. To know have it mentioned like this was shocking.
"Now, we could simply take everything that we've already agreed upon, and simply toss it into the trashcan, and go back about our business. And in five years - or less - your people will be suffering from mass starvation." Hawking looked sick at that thought.
"Or you could simply buck up, and simply realize that pride and honor are all well and good - but that when you strip those away, if you can truthfully answer that you've done the best for your people when you turn out the lights at night, then nothing else matters."
With that, DeVirgo slid a paper across to the Corsairs. The summary of things was simple:
The Corsair Empire and the BHG| and BHG|Core will enter into a non-agression pact, effective immediately, for the following: All Omicron Systems; All Omega systems with the exception of Omega 3, 7, 15, and 56.
BHG| and BHG|Core ships will not enter Omicron Gamma or any of the Corsair home systems beyond Gamma without permission from a member of the families, and will be escorted during any time that they would need to be there.
The subsidiary branch of the BHG|, AP Manufacturing, will deliver to Planet Crete at least one full ship load of food products per week. Entry into Crete to be arranged and escorts provided by the members of the ruling families. Transfer of cargo to planetside to be accomplished by space docking - no ships will land on Crete.
BHG| tagged mining ships shall be allowed to mine for artifacts around the jump hole in Omicron Gamma, with permission from the families.
If the Order is displaced off of planet Toledo, the Corsair Empire has first claim to that property for land rights. The BHG|Core retains first claim to any artifact or other Nomad technology available on that planet.
No Corsair ships shall enter Omega 56, or shall close to within 20K of the BHG| station Rostock, in Omega 15.
The non-agression pact shall not be vaild in any space not already mentioned, due to contracts and needs of the Corsair peoples.
"Well?"
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
"I had hoped that there might have been common ground between our two factions, and that these talks might have a good chance of achieving something worthwhile. Gradually I'm starting to feel I was mistaken; that the BHG's view on the Empire is based entirely on lies and the propaganda of our enemies, and intelligence that is not only incomplete, but entirely inaccurate and fails to recognise that our people are better off today than at any time in our history.
I fear there is no hope for an acceptable agreement.
Carlos glared at the proposal he'd been presented with, rolled his eyes, and passed the paper to Montoya.
Juan took a marker from his pocket and started scribbing on the proposal.
"Carlos is correct when he says that our people are better off now than at any time in the past. There are still that go hungry from time to time, but our food supply is... stable. What is it that our people did centuries ago, or is that a rumour? The same kind of rumour that could circulate about your little concubine, miss Hearns, over there."
He tipped the back of the marker in her direction without looking up.
"Believing such rumours for the sake of gossip, I can understand. Basing your opinions of a foreign power on them is a bit more reckless."
"Honestly, we came to the table knowing what we were coming for. Corsairs we may be, but disorganised we are not. I believe that your information on the chances of the mass-starvation occuring on Crete may be a bit outdated, given that either you or your associates have grossly overestimated the chances of it. Of course, you would expect me to say that, given my heritage, but we can wait and see or you can consider this revision of your proposal."
The contract went sliding back to DeVirgo as Juan replaced the marker in his pocket.
1. The Corsair Empire and the BHG| and BHG|Core will enter into a non-agression pact, effective immediately, for the following: All Omicron Systems; All Omega systems with the exception of Omega 3, 7, 15, and 56.
2. BHG| and BHG|Core ships will not enter Omicron Gamma or any of the Corsair home systems beyond Gamma without permission from a member of the families, and will be escorted during any time that they would need to be there.
<strike>3. The subsidiary branch of the BHG|, AP Manufacturing, will deliver to Planet Crete at least one full ship load of food products per week. Entry into Crete to be arranged and escorts provided by the members of the ruling families. Transfer of cargo to planetside to be accomplished by space docking - no ships will land on Crete.
4. BHG| tagged mining ships shall be allowed to mine for artifacts around the jump hole in Omicron Gamma, with permission from the families.
5. If the Order is displaced off of planet Toledo, the Corsair Empire has first claim to that property for land rights. The BHG|Core retains first claim to any artifact or other Nomad technology available on that planet.</strike>
6. No Corsair ships shall enter Omega 56, or shall close to within 20K of the BHG| station Rostock, in Omega 15.
7. The non-agression pact shall not be vaild in any space not already mentioned, due to contracts and needs of the Corsair peoples.
"As you can see, three through five have been editted out. Firstly, we have no need of so-called food from a source we do not trust. Secondly, mining? We murder anyone caught mining our artifacts, including the Zoners. What makes you think we would extend this to you, given our history? Lastly, the offer of land on Toledo, likely battletorn by the time it falls from the hands of the Order, would prove harder to transform into arable land than leveling some of the great mountain ranges of Crete."
"I bet this is the part where you expect me to storm out of here, tearing this completely up, because of a few insults and changes."
The calm tone of his voice made the Corsairs wonder whether DeVirgo was sane or not.
"As for Abigail - she's not my concubine, any more than Hawking is your man slave. She is, of course, better looking - and was Miss BHG| last year... no doubt you saw her famous calendar pictures with the furred denizens of Edinburgh...."
"Are you completely mad and wandering off on trivialities here?"
DeVirgo looked at Carlos - and Carlos suddenly felt like he was looking into emptiness. The soul behind those eyes peering at him was that of a stone cold killer, and he could see his own death there. Then, DeVirgo blinked, and his eyes were normal again.
"Trivialities, my good man? Put yourself in my position for a moment, if you can. And then ask yourself, what's in it for me, and my people. Seriously - you and the Order are nearly shooting each other now, for reasons of your own. And our philosophy that the enemy of my enemy may also be my enemy still applies here. We agree to this - and you're sitting pretty. You have an effectively secure border now, without us to contend with."
"Now, what does my Guild get? Less chance to earn money, because we won't be able to fulfill our contracts. While it frees up some of our strength to eal with the Order - it does nothing as far as actually reducing or changing anything - we already hunt the Hessians, the Coalition, the Order, and the Outcasts. And we already fight you - we simply prefer not to if we can avoid it."
"Do we get docking rights at your stations? Not hardly. Do we get unlimited assistance from your ship? That's laughable. Are we forming an alliance against all enemies? Only in someone's nightmares. But really - with everything that this would give you, what do WE get?"
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
"You get to conduct your private war in peace, so to speak" Juan interrupted.
"Is that value enough for you?"
He paused for a moment before continuing.
Our northern border has always been quite safe in the hands of our soldiers. We fought the nomads and you, now we propose to only fight the nomads. You fight the Order, the Nomads and us, we propose that you focus your strength on two rather than three. Simply mathematics, wouldn't you agree?
Inwardly, Juan found himself to be regressing a little. Back to the good old days of the facade of military strength in favour of political wrangling. At least this time, Carlos was sitting at his side, and not on the other side of the table.
Less income? Maybe. Less costs too? Probably. You'd know better than we how many men, training and ships could be saved in the long run were we to gracefully step out of your way.
DeVirgo sat still, looking at his opponents. Finally, he said"Very well. We'll try it. I'll leave the artifact issue alone for now. But your refusal to agree to that does mean that we will claim Toledo - or whatever remains of it when we're victorious against the Order."
Carlos looked back at him. "Just like that?" "Just like that.
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
Carlos frowned at DeVirgo, not sure if this was some sort of trick. The station was quiet; it was late, and Carlos, having spent so long in the unsettling presence of these hunters, was looking forward to returning home.
"This deal is acceptable then?"Carlos announced. DeVirgo nodded his approval. Carlos looked round to Montoya, who also nodded, and lastly, his eyes fell on Hawking, who reluctantly nodded. "Naturally, we'll need to present this treaty to the Council of Elders."said Carlos, handing a data-pad to DeVirgo. It contained secure contact details. "Use that frequency if you need to get in-touch. Im sure you'll be happy to meet us at a later date to sign this treaty?"
Taking the data-pad, DeVirgo looked puzzeled. "I'm sorry - I thought that with one absent exception, you gentlemen WERE the Council of Elders. Regardless, from our perspective we do not have to present this to anyone. In this matter, my personal word is as law."
"What about your Council of Guildmasters, or your Exalted Guildmaster Graves, then? Do you now have to clear this with them?"
"Apparently we are not the only ones guilty of having old or outdated information, Carlos. George has had a medical condition come up that has resulted in his ... retirement ... from active leadership of the Guild. The Council is answerable to me, not the other way around."
Carlos looked startled. The head of the whole Guild had been in his gunsights merely hours before.
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.